First, verify that the Contractor is licensed. Florida Law requires that a General Contractor or Home Improvement Contractor be licensed.

Verify that the Contractor is insured. State Law requires that they carry workers compensation insurance. Ask to see a certificate of insurance. You may also want to ask for references and be sure to check them all out.

Finally make sure all agreements are in writing. Be sure to reduce all change orders, or contract amendments to writing. Make sure the Contractor obtains all required building permits and pass the required code inspections. Before making the final payment be sure to obtain a certificate of completion or certificate of occupancy issued by the Building Division.

You can contact the Development Services Department at (863) 419-3230 with questions regarding your zoning or view the zoning map. Please be sure to have the Polk County Property Appraiser Parcel Number and/or property address for the property.

The Community Redevelopment Agency is a special district created to encourage investment within the district through a series of strategic and timely public investments. For more information, please contact Mark J. Bennett, Deputy Director of Development Services/CRA Manager at (863) 419-3230.

The road drainage system or the off road outfall system may need maintenance. The Public Works Department maintains public roads and drainage systems in Haines City. Public Works may be contacted at 863-421-3777.

A flood event (also known as a base flood) having one percent probability of occurring in any given year. This may also be referred to as the 1% chance flood. In Polk County, the storm may drop about 10.6 inches of rain in a 24-hour period.

The Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRM) provide a basis for determining if a property is within a floodplain. On December 20, 2000, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) adopted the latest flood insurance rate maps for Polk County. Copies of the FIRM panels are available from FEMA, at 800-358-9616 or the Map Service Center. The flood maps are also available at area libraries, the East Polk Board of Realtors and the Polk County Builders Association.

Pet Shelters are primarily for pet owners who live in mobile or manufactured housing, substandard housing or in an area prone to flooding. Additional public shelters will be available in the County for those without pets. As in any other sheltering situation, residents are advised to consult the local media or Polk County Citizens Information Line 863-401-2234 to ensure a specific shelter is open and operating before proceeding to that facility. Public shelters or pet shelters should be your last option if you must evacuate. Seek out family, friends, church members or others that do not have to evacuate as your first choice.

While we can not guarantee fleas or other parasites will not be passed among pets, pet owners must understand that if a pet becomes unruly, aggressive, shows signs of contagious disease, is infested with parasites (fleas, ticks, lice, etc.) or begins to show signs of stress-related conditions, their pet may be removed to a more remote location in the shelter or removed from the shelter.

The Polk County Sheriff’s Office Animal Services Division will manage the pet shelters and have Animal Control officers present. Pets must remain inside an airline approved carrier at all times while inside the shelter buildings. Pet owners acknowledge that any decision concerning the care and welfare of pets and the shelter population as a whole are within the sole discretion of the shelter staff, whose decisions are final. Failure to follow these rules may result in the removal of a pet from the shelter.

Many citizens of Polk County live in mobile or manufactured housing, substandard housing, or in a flood prone area and must evacuate during a hurricane. Often these citizens have pets that are considered as part of the family and refuse to move to a safer location without taking their pets. Pet shelters offer a safer place for people not just pets.

Break-down time is included in the hours that you have reserved the facility for. We recommend one (1) hour for break-down. If you need to add additional hours to your reservation, please contact the Event Coordinator.

If you are requesting to have alcohol at your event, you will be required to complete a City of Haines City alcohol permit request and pay a $10.00 non-refundable permit fee. Requests are approved on a case by case basis.

Unfortunately, the Haines City Fire Department does not refill fire extinguishers. It is recommended that you contact a commercial fire extinguisher company for recharging. A listing of commercial fire extinguisher companies can be found in the local phone directory under fire extinguishers/equipment. Many household fire extinguishers cannot be recharged and must be discarded after use. An annual inspection of the expiration date is encouraged to ensure that the manufacturer date has not expired.

If you are wanting to burn, please contact the fire department.at 863-421-3611. Our fire inspector will come to your location to do an inspection of what you are burning along with placement of burn pile. If everything is up to code he will then issue a burn permit.

Buy a smoke alarm at any hardware or discount store. It’s inexpensive protection for you and your family. Install a smoke alarm on every level of your home. A working smoke alarm can double your chances of survival. Test it monthly, keep it free of dust and replace the battery every 6 months. Smoke alarms themselves should be replaced after ten years of service, or as recommended by the manufacturer.

The smoke alarm will chirp when it’s time to replace the battery. We encourage residents to change the smoke alarm battery when they change their clocks for daylight saving time in the spring and fall each year.

The Commanding Officer assigns fire station duties to the crew for that day. Duties include:

Vehicle inspections

Public education events

Station cleaning

Monitoring the dispatch radio

Flag mounting

Attendance reporting

Physical fitness

Firefighters also participate in community events and in-service training activities. The in-service training involves classroom instruction and hands-on training at the fire station and/or the Department Training Academy.

Emergency incidents may interrupt assigned duties, such as emergency and non-emergency incidents, which includes but are not limited to:

Residential fires

Commercial fires

Vehicle fires

Emergency medical incidents

False alarms

Firefighters are permitted to rest and sleep during their 24-hour tour of duty after 5 p.m.

You can get your Florida driver’s license and/or Florida identification cards from the Tax Collector’s Office for Polk County, from Monday through Friday, from 8:30 a.m. until 5 p.m. However, if you are needing a Commercial Driver License, the cut-off time is 3:30 p.m., and 4 p.m. for regular Driver License. North Ridge Service Center located at:2000 Deer Creek Commerce LaneDavenport, FL 33837

Application for employment must be made on the City's official application form. Resumes by themselves do not satisfy this requirement. Please provide as much detail about your work history as possible and attach additional sheets as necessary. Applications are only accepted for job vacancies that are posted. Applications may be completed via an electronic form and emailed to our department.

Applications are available between the hours of 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at:

If your qualifications and experience meet the position requirements, Human Resources will identify you as a potential candidate and forward your application to the hiring manager. The time frame varies and depends on the position and number of applicants. If selected for an interview, you would typically be contacted 2 to 3 weeks after the closing date of the position.

Applicants with a criminal record are evaluated on a case by case basis. Be honest and forthright concerning your background on the application form and during the interview. A conviction will not necessarily bar you from employment, but will be weighed with respect to time, circumstances, seriousness, and the position for which you have applied.

Yes. The library provides free public access to computers. A Polk County library card or valid identification is required in order to use our computers. Patrons with an account balance of $10.00 or more will not be able to use any of the free library services including the computers.

The Supreme Court has ruled that a Law Enforcement Officer maintains control of the driver and passengers. If the officer instructs you to remain seated in your vehicle, or instructs you to exit your vehicle, those are lawful commands and must be followed or an arrest may be effected.

If you have questions regarding your case, you may call the Criminal Investigations Division at 863-421-3636 with your case number to find out the status of your investigation. A detective will be assigned to your case, and that detective will also contact you to inquire if you have additional information to add to your report or to follow up with additional questions regarding your investigation.

All lost and found items that are turned in to the Police Department are stored in our Evidence Section. You can contact our Evidence Technician at 863-421-3636 x2251 Monday through Friday between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. if you think we may have your lost item.

The Code Compliance Unit ensures compliance with the City’s codes and ordinances relating to housing, overgrowth, open storage/care of premises, zoning, disabled/abandoned vehicles, minimum maintenance for commercial structures, signage and other City ordinances and codes. Violators are provided time to correct violations and administrative hearings are scheduled for those that are not corrected. The Unit’s Code Compliance Officers are responsible for different areas/districts of the City.

If the person in charge of the property has been cited for a violation and has made no effort to comply with the ordinance, the case will be presented to the City’s Code Enforcement Special Magistrate. A possible $250.00 daily fine may be imposed along with administrative cost may be assessed to the property owner for non-compliance and a lien will be recorded in public records against the property and all other properties that the owner of record owns.

If your vehicle cannot be legally operated on the road because of a cracked or missing windshield, broken lights, etc., it is considered inoperative. If the tag is expired and/or the tires are flat, the vehicle is also presumed inoperative. These vehicles must be stored inside a fully enclosed garage or removed from the property.

It is the policy of the Haines City Police Department to investigate all complaints (including anonymous) against the agency and its members and to maintain an Administrative Investigations (AI) function wherein all assigned complaints or cases involving the agency's integrity are thoroughly, expeditiously, and impartially investigated.

Requires an agency to develop a comprehensive, well thought out, uniform set of written directives. This is one of the most successful methods for reaching administrative and operational goals, while also providing direction to personnel.

Provide the necessary reports and analyses a CEO needs to make fact-based, informed management decisions.

Require a preparedness program be put in place – so an agency is ready to address natural or man-made critical incidents.

Are a means for developing or improving upon an agency’s relationship with the community?

Strengthen an agency’s accountability, both within the agency and the community, through a continuum of standards that clearly defines authority, performance, and responsibilities.

Can limit an agency’s liability and risk exposure because it demonstrates that internationally recognized standards for law enforcement have been met, as verified by a team of independent outside CALEA-trained assessors and compliance service members.

Place all garbage containers for residential service at the curb no earlier than 12 hours prior to 6 a.m. on the scheduled day of collection. Should your garbage container be missed, call the Public Works Department at 863-421-3777.

The containers should be placed on the side, or at the back of the house, or inside of the garage during non-pickup days. Moving the container away from the curb does not exclude you from receiving a penalty. The container cannot be anywhere between the house and the road.

You will receive a green warning ticket on your first offense. If it is your second offense, then you will receive an orange ticket on your door and a $25 fine will be posted on your next utility bill. You will continue to receive a $25 fine for each day the container is left in front of the house.

You will still receive a violation. If the container is anywhere between the house and the road on a day that is not your scheduled pickup day, you will receive a violation. Take the extra minute to move the container to the side of the house or to push it back into the garage.

There are announcements posted in your utility bill or on our website, which posts the holiday schedules. The general rule is that pickup days will move to the following day. For example, if your pickup day is on Monday and the holiday falls on a Monday, then your garbage will be picked up on Tuesday. Then normal Tuesday pickups will occur on Wednesday, normal Wednesday pickups will occur on Thursday, normal Thursday pickups will occur on Friday, and normal Friday pickups will occur on Saturday.

If you just moved into a house that was in the builder’s name, then you can call City Hall 863-421-3600 to open an account and pay the deposit fee. After your account is open then you can call Public Works Department at 863-421-3777 to get a new garbage can and/or recycle bin. If this is a house that had a previous owner, then call the Public Works Department at 863-421-3777 to purchase a new garbage container. All recycle bins are free of charge.

An additional garbage can is $20.00 for the first three months then $10.00 for the last two months added on to your utility bill for the next five months after you purchase it, resulting in a total of $80.00 for each additional garbage can.

If the paint is water based, the can is mostly empty and the paint is completely dried out, then Republic Services will pick them up. If it is oil based paint, then you can dispose of it during the Clean Up Day that includes hazardous waste or take it to the North Central Landfill.

Call the Public Works Department at 863-421-3777 to schedule a pickup (there will be a charge).

Someone from Republic Services will drive by your house and give you a quote of how much it will cost, then the charge will be added to your utility bill. Republic Services will not pick it up unless you agree to the amount.

Take the debris to the North Central Landfill.

Contact a company that offers “roll-off” dumpsters (Lowes, Home Depot, Republic Services, etc.).

Tires without the rim can be placed 5 feet from the curb where you normally place your garbage can. Residents are allowed 4 tires each year for disposal. Tire pickup is the third Saturday of each month citywide.

Utility Services can be turned on/off or transferred by visiting City Hall. Bring a valid photo ID and a copy of closing statement or lease agreement showing your current address. City Hall is located at:620 E Main StreetHaines City, Florida 33844.

Inside the City Limits

Residential Accounts: Residential accounts inside the City limits require a deposit of $140 plus a $20 one time activation fee, for a total deposit of $160.

Commercial Accounts: Commercial accounts inside the City limits require a $210 deposit plus a $20 one time activation fee, for a total deposit of $230.

Outside the City Limits

Residential Accounts: Residential accounts outside the City limits require a deposit of $175 plus a $20 one time activation fee, for a total deposit of $195.

Commercial Accounts: Commercial accounts outside the City limits require a $262.50 deposit with a $20 one time activation fee, for a total deposit of $282.50.

You can call the Public Works Department at 863-421-3777, and report the outage please give as much information as possible (the number on the pole, and/or the address closest to the pole). Or you can call at 800-700-8744 or go online and report it to Duke Energy.

If it is obstructing traffic, or it is a power line pole, or a power line, call the Police Department at 863-421-3636 to ensure the safety of the situation. You can call the Public Works Department at 863-421-3777, please give as much information as possible (number on the pole and/or the address closest to the pole). If this is a power line or power line pole do not go near it, just call the Police Department or Public Works Department. If it is a street light pole and it is not an emergency, please call Duke Energy at 800-700-8744, or notify the Public Works Department 863-421-3777.

Under Florida law, email addresses are public records. If you do not want your email address released in response to a public records request, do not send electronic mail to this entity. Instead, contact this office by phone or in writing.